As of December 9, 2025, the U.S. stock market is hovering near record highs. The S&P 500 has delivered roughly 18% total return year to date, driven largely by mega-cap technology and artificial intelligence winners, while the Nasdaq has surged even more. [1]
At the same time, the macro backdrop is shifting:
- Inflation is running around 3% year over year as of the latest official reading, with real‑time nowcasts pointing to about 2.9–3.0% inflation for December. [2]
- Futures markets are pricing in ~85–89% odds that the Federal Reserve will cut rates by 25 basis points at its December 9–10 meeting, taking the Fed funds range from 3.75–4.00% down to 3.50–3.75%. [3]
- Strategists at Oppenheimer just raised their S&P 500 year‑end 2026 target to 8,100, about 18% above current levels, citing robust earnings and AI‑driven productivity. [4]
Meanwhile, artificial intelligence remains the dominant market theme. Estimates suggest AI‑linked companies have driven around 75% of S&P 500 gains, 80% of earnings growth and 90% of capex in 2025. [5]
In other words: stocks aren’t cheap, AI is crowded, and rates are (probably) about to move lower again. Picking “the best stocks to buy now” requires being selective and diversified.
Below is an editorial, general‑information list of eight U.S.‑listed stocks that look especially interesting right now, based on fresh news, forecasts, and analyses as of December 9, 2025. This is not personal financial advice; always consider your own goals, risk tolerance, and time horizon.
How these December 2025 stock picks were chosen
To build a list that’s actually useful in a stretched market, we looked for companies that:
- Sit on clear secular tailwinds (AI infrastructure, cloud, obesity drugs, financial market activity, defensive staples).
- Show strong or improving fundamentals – earnings beats, robust guidance, or clear profitability trends.
- Still have reasonable upside, using consensus or reputable analyst/valuation work, rather than pure meme momentum.
- Span different sectors, so you’re not just buying an AI basket in disguise.
We drew on current reporting and analysis from Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, Morningstar, Zacks, Goldman/JPM research, Seeking Alpha, and mainstream financial sites (cited throughout).
Again: this is general market commentary, not a recommendation to go buy all eight tickers tomorrow.
1. Nvidia (NVDA): AI compute king with a fresh policy tailwind
Nvidia remains the face of the AI boom — and 2025 has only deepened that status.
- The stock is up about 38% in 2025 and nearly 13x over the last five years, turning a $1,000 investment into roughly $13,900. [6]
- Nvidia became the first company to cross a $4.5 trillion market cap in October and then approached the $5 trillion mark as AI spending exploded. [7]
Big news today: China chip sales are back (partially)
On December 9, 2025, President Trump announced that Nvidia will be allowed to sell its powerful H200 AI chips to “approved customers” in China and other countries, with the U.S. government taking 25% of revenue from those sales. The most advanced Blackwell and Rubin chips remain restricted. [8]
This decision rolls back some of the toughest AI export limits, potentially unlocking billions in incremental revenue while still keeping Nvidia’s very top‑end hardware off‑limits to China.
On the same day, The Wall Street Journal’s Management Top 250 ranked Nvidia as America’s best‑managed company, ahead of Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet, citing top marks in financial strength and employee engagement. [9]
Why NVDA still makes many “best stocks to buy now” lists
- Demand backdrop: Hyperscalers and AI start‑ups are still starved for compute; order books remain deep.
- Policy catalyst: The partial reopening of China as an export market adds an unexpected upside lever.
- Quality signal: Being named the best‑managed U.S. company reinforces the view that Nvidia is more than just a hot ticker.
Key risks: Valuation is rich and heavily sentiment‑driven, and a lot of good news is already priced in. Any reversal on export policy or AI spending could hit the stock hard.
2. Microsoft (MSFT): High‑quality AI and cloud compounder
If Nvidia is the picks and shovels of the AI gold rush, Microsoft is one of the best platforms built on top of it.
- Microsoft trades around $491/share, with a 52‑week range of roughly $345–$555. [10]
- The company just posted a blowout quarter: $77.7B in revenue (up ~18% YoY) and EPS of $4.13 vs. $3.65 expected, driven by cloud and AI. [11]
- Azure, Microsoft’s cloud platform, grew around 40% year over year, outpacing rivals and underscoring strong AI‑driven demand. [12]
Analyst sentiment is notably strong:
- 43 analysts cover the stock with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average 12‑month target around $630–635, implying roughly 25–30% upside from current levels. [13]
- Forecasts see earnings growing ~14–15% annually and revenue around 12–13% per year, with return on equity projected near 25–26% in three years. [14]
24/7 Wall St. recently projected Microsoft could trade around $563 by the end of 2025, about 16% above current prices, assuming Azure maintains 20%+ growth and margins hold. [15]
Why MSFT looks attractive now
- Diversified AI monetization: Copilot across Office, GitHub, and Windows plus Azure OpenAI services gives Microsoft multiple ways to cash in on AI.
- Balance sheet & cash flow: Enormous free cash flow (~$25B+ per quarter) supports buybacks and dividends. [16]
- Reasonable (for mega‑cap) valuation: A forward P/E in the low‑to‑mid 30s is a premium to the market but not outlandish for its growth profile. [17]
Key risks: Any slowdown in cloud growth or disappointment in AI monetization could compress that premium. Regulatory pressure in the U.S. and EU also looms over big tech.
3. Alphabet (GOOGL/GOOG): AI chip “sleeper” with big upside optionality
Alphabet has quietly become 2025’s best‑performing “Magnificent Seven” stock, with shares up about 66–70% year to date, handily beating peers like Microsoft and Amazon. [18]
Even after a small pullback on December 8 (GOOG closed at $314.45, about 4% below its 52‑week high of $328.67), the company is still near record territory with a market cap above $3.8 trillion. [19]
The $900 billion “secret sauce”: TPUs
What’s really exciting the market lately is Alphabet’s tensor processing unit (TPU) business:
- Bloomberg and others estimate Alphabet’s AI chips could represent a $900 billion revenue opportunity over time if the company sells them more broadly, not just for internal use. [20]
- Fortune reports that TPUs have helped drive a ~30% fourth‑quarter rally in Alphabet’s stock as investors re‑rate its AI prospects. [21]
- Meta is reportedly in talks to spend billions of dollars on Google’s chips starting in 2027, which would turn Alphabet into a more direct rival to Nvidia in data‑center silicon. [22]
At the same time, Alphabet’s Gemini AI models, Search, YouTube, and Cloud businesses continue to deliver strong growth, with forward earnings multiples around 30x that many analysts still describe as “reasonable” for the growth profile. [23]
Why Alphabet makes sense here
- Multiple AI monetization levers: Ads, Cloud, productivity tools, plus a potential TPU‑as‑a‑service business.
- Valuation vs. growth: Top‑tier revenue growth with a forward P/E that’s lower than many AI peers.
- Best‑of‑breed megacap: Several analysts have named Alphabet their top Magnificent Seven pick for 2026, even after huge 2025 gains. [24]
Key risks: Regulatory scrutiny (antitrust, privacy), cyclical ad spending, and heavy AI infrastructure costs could pressure margins.
4. Vertiv (VRT): AI data‑center “picks and shovels”
If you believe AI will keep gobbling up compute and power, Vertiv is one of the cleanest “picks and shovels” ways to play it.
Vertiv builds critical digital infrastructure for data centers — power systems, cooling, racks, and other hardware that make high‑density AI clusters possible. [25]
Recent numbers are impressive:
- Q3 2025 net sales hit $2.68B, up 29% YoY, driven by 43% growth in the Americas and 20% in APAC. [26]
- EPS came in at $1.24, beating estimates, and management raised full‑year 2025 EPS guidance to roughly $4.07–4.13. [27]
- Vertiv’s backlog stands around $9.5B, nearly a full year of revenue (TTM ~$9.7B), giving strong visibility into future demand. [28]
- The stock is up ~60% in 2025 and around 57% in the past six months, as investors price in AI data‑center growth. [29]
TD Cowen recently named Vertiv one of its “Best Ideas for 2026”, citing accelerating AI data‑center demand and the potential for upside to orders and margins. [30]
Why VRT stands out
- Structural tailwind: Dell’Oro estimates AI‑related data‑center infrastructure spending could exceed $1 trillion over the next five years. Vertiv is plugged directly into that trend. [31]
- Moat: High integration costs, sticky contracts, and complex engineering make it hard for customers to switch vendors. [32]
- Fundamental momentum: Repeated guidance raises, a growing dividend, and strong order growth.
Key risks: The stock has already rerated hard; any slowdown in AI capex or project delays could hit a richly valued story. Execution missteps on big projects would also hurt.
5. Eli Lilly (LLY): Obesity‑drug titan with trillion‑dollar scale
Eli Lilly has become the face of the obesity‑drug revolution — and the first drugmaker ever to join the $1 trillion market‑cap club, which it achieved on November 21, 2025. [33]
Key numbers:
- Shares are up 35%+ in 2025, with a ~25% jump in just 21 trading days at one point this autumn. [34]
- In the latest quarter, Lilly’s GLP‑1 diabetes and obesity portfolio (Mounjaro and Zepbound, based on tirzepatide) generated over $10 billion, more than half of total revenue of $17.6B. [35]
- The company trades around 50x forward earnings, reflecting high expectations for sustained growth. [36]
In early December, Lilly cut prices on its self‑pay Zepbound vials, lowering monthly costs from $349 to $299 at the low dose and making higher doses cheaper as well. The move aims to broaden access and defend market share as competition heats up. [37]
Why Lilly still looks compelling
- Structural demand: Obesity and related conditions are massive, long‑duration markets. Some estimates see tens of millions of U.S. patients eventually on GLP‑1 therapies. [38]
- Pipeline: Oral obesity drug orforglipron is expected in 2026 and could expand the addressable market further. [39]
- Execution: Lilly has repeatedly raised its outlook on the back of strong GLP‑1 demand and manufacturing scale‑up. [40]
Key risks: Competition from biotechs like Structure Therapeutics and WAVE Life Sciences (which reported very strong GLP‑1 and amylin‑based obesity drug data today) is intensifying, and valuations leave little room for error. [41]
6. General Motors (GM): Contrarian value in an “EV winter”
While many investors are souring on pure‑play EV makers, General Motors has emerged as a surprise winner of the so‑called “EV winter.”
Today, Morgan Stanley upgraded GM to Overweight/Buy, lifting its price target from $54 to $90 and arguing that slowing EV demand, the loss of the federal EV tax credit, and a renewed focus on profitable combustion and hybrid vehicles play to GM’s strengths. [42]
Some context:
- GM trades around $76/share, just below a 52‑week high near $77, after a ~61% surge over the last six months. [43]
- Q3 2025 adjusted EPS of $2.80 beat estimates ($2.28) and came with revenues of $48.6B, up roughly 9–10% YoY. [44]
- Discounted cash‑flow analysis from Simply Wall St suggests GM is still roughly 20% undervalued even after the rally. [45]
Zacks made GM its “Bull of the Day” on December 9, highlighting strong earnings momentum and a Zacks Rank of #1–2 (Strong Buy/Buy). [46]
Why GM can belong on a “best stocks to buy now” list
- Repricing of autos: With EV growth slowing and incentives cut, traditional automakers with profitable ICE/hybrid portfolios can regain valuation respect.
- Capital returns: GM has restarted and grown its dividend (yield around 0.7–0.8%) with a low payout ratio, leaving room for buybacks and further increases. [47]
- Margin focus: Management is targeting 8–10% North American margins by cutting tariff burdens, stabilizing warranty costs, and resizing EV capacity to match realistic demand. [48]
Key risks: Cyclical exposure to a potential U.S. slowdown; execution risk in balancing EV investments with ICE profitability; and labor or political risks around the auto industry.
7. Goldman Sachs (GS): A Dow leader geared to a friendlier rate path
In 2025, one of the best‑performing Dow components hasn’t been Nvidia or Microsoft — it’s Goldman Sachs.
- GS closed around $866.69 on December 8, setting a fresh all‑time high and extending a five‑day winning streak, even as the broader market fell. [49]
- Shares are up roughly 40–45% year to date, outpacing both peers and the broader financial sector. [50]
- Goldman’s market cap is now about $256B. [51]
Fundamentally:
- Zacks notes Goldman’s stock has jumped 43.6% YTD, beating JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, and attributes the move to strong investment banking, trading, and asset‑management performance. [52]
- The bank’s P/E ratio around 17.4 is elevated vs. its recent average (about 14.5) but still below many tech names. [53]
- The forward dividend yield is around 1.8–1.9%, with a 16% dividend CAGR over the past three years and 14 consecutive years of increases. [54]
Goldman’s own research expects the Fed to continue cutting rates into 2026, taking the funds rate down toward 3–3.25%, which typically supports capital markets activity, lending, and asset prices. [55]
Why GS is interesting going into 2026
- Beneficiary of lower (but not zero) rates: A gentle easing cycle can boost trading and deal‑making without crushing net interest income.
- Leveraged to corporate activity: M&A, IPOs and debt issuance often rise when uncertainty about rates recedes.
- Shareholder‑friendly: Healthy dividend plus buybacks backed by robust earnings.
Key risks: A sharp recession, credit stress tied to AI or commercial real estate, or regulatory changes impacting capital markets could hit profitability.
8. Campbell Soup (CPB): An unloved defensive stock at a big discount
In a world obsessed with AI and obesity drugs, canned soup and snacks are about as boring as it gets — and that’s precisely why Campbell Soup is showing up on a lot of value screens.
Morningstar includes Campbell’s among its “10 Best Companies to Invest in Now – December 2025”, noting that the stock trades at roughly half its $60 fair value estimate, making it one of the cheapest names on its “Best Companies to Own” list. [56]
Other valuation work tells a similar story:
- Campbell’s shares are down roughly 32% over the last 12 months, with a 52‑week change of –32% and an extremely low 5‑year beta around –0.06 (meaning they barely move with the market). [57]
- Several DCF‑based models estimate the stock is 20–50% undervalued after a prolonged slump driven more by sentiment than by a collapse in fundamentals. [58]
Income investors have another reason to care:
- Campbell’s forward dividend yield is about 5.2–5.3%, well above its 5‑year average around 3.4%. [59]
- Dividend research groups rate the payout as “A+” safe, with modest payout ratios and stable earnings. [60]
Why CPB might belong in a 2025 portfolio
- Defensive ballast: In a market dominated by AI‑heavy growth and policy risk, a low‑beta, high‑yield staple stock can smooth volatility.
- Valuation rerating potential: If investors rotate back into defensives or bond yields fall with Fed cuts, high‑quality staples at deep discounts can see multiple expansion.
- Cash returns: That 5%+ yield pays you to wait.
Key risks: Growth is modest, and Campbell must execute on innovation and cost control to avoid being a value trap. Rising obesity‑drug usage could also modestly affect calorie‑dense packaged foods over time.
Putting it together: themes behind these 8 “best stocks to buy now”
Rather than treating this as a shopping list to be bought in one click, think of these eight stocks as representatives of key 2025–2026 themes:
- AI core & platforms – Nvidia, Microsoft, Alphabet, Vertiv
- Benefit from continued AI capex, cloud adoption, and software productivity gains.
- Health & demographic shifts – Eli Lilly
- Monetizes long‑term shifts in obesity and metabolic disease treatment.
- Cyclical reflation & industrial strength – General Motors, Goldman Sachs
- Fit a world of modest rate cuts, solid GDP, and ongoing capital investment.
- Defensive income & value – Campbell Soup
- Provides diversification and yield if AI or growth stocks correct.
Given that the S&P 500 has already returned nearly 18% in 2025, concentrated in a handful of AI names, adding exposure thoughtfully — and balancing it with value, financials, and defensives — looks more prudent than going all‑in on any single story. [61]
Important disclaimer
This article is for informational and educational purposes only. It:
- Is not individualized investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
- Relies on publicly available data and analyst reports that can change quickly.
- Reflects conditions and news as of December 9, 2025.
References
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